Playing right winger and wearing number 15, Derek Dorsett played for the Columbus Blue Jackets during the 2010/2011 NHL season. He reportedly earned $550,000 for his time on the ice. The total team salary for the Columbus Blue Jackets was reportedly $56,440,000, so his salary represented 1.0% of that total team payroll. The average salary for a player on the Columbus Blue Jackets was $2,090,370. The median salary was $1,750,000. He played a total of 76 games that season, with 4 goals and 13 assists - a total of 17 points. Dividing his reported salary by the number of games played, we find he earned $7,236.84 per game. Derek Dorsett had a plus/minus of -15, 184 PIM (penalties in minutes), 0 PP (power play goals), 0 SH (short-handed goals), 0 GWG (game winning goals), and took 112 shots. He had a shooting percentage in the 2010/2011 season of 3.60%. We can divide his salary by the number of goals scored, as well as by the number of points (goals plus assists), if we want to try to evaluate his performance strictly on offense. His salary per goal scored was $137,500 and his salary per point was $32,353.

What about taxes? The hockey season is split between two calendar years, however, with a annual U.S.-based salary of $550,000 he can expect to pay around $167,784 in federal income taxes. That is about the same dollar amount of tax as the tax paid by 21 median high school teachers, 23 median police officers, or 33 median fire fighters. After paying the IRS, he would have $382,216 left over, although he still may have to pay city or state tax.

About the author

Author: Mark McCracken is a corporate trainer and author living in Higashi Osaka, Japan. He is the author of thousands of online articles as well as the Business English textbook, "25 Business Skills in English".